It is well known that the application of a lubricant to the surfaces of railroad tracks improve the rollability of railroad cars thereby significantly reducing the rate at which the tracks become worn by the wheels of the cars as they engage the tracks. Track portions such as curves and switches are particularly subject to wear. Lubricating the tracks likewise reduces the wear to the wheels of the cars.
The cars of a train are disassembled and reassembled into new trains in a yard which has numerous parallel tracks that are accessible from the opposing ends thereof by access tracks connected by switches. The track, including curves and switches, are currently lubricated by manually applying lubricant thereto or by injecting a lubricant, such as through outlets on to the surface of the tracks.
Within the yard, cars of an incoming train are disassembled and recombined with cars from other incoming trains into a plurality of new outgoing trains, with the cars of each new train lined up on a separate track in the yard. A hump yard is a switchyard wherein a locomotive pushes cars over a hump at a speed of approximately three miles per hour. The car is independently released on the crest of the hump and allowed to roll down the far side of the hump and across switches to tracks on which the new trains are being formed. Another type of switchyard is a flat switching yard, where a locomotive is used to push cars all the way to a desired location.
In a hump yard, the speed of the car as it moves along the track system is controlled by a series of retarders. A computer associated with each retarder receives information regarding the weight of the incoming car and has a sensor for determining the speed at which the car is entering the retarder. The computer compares the weight and speed of the incoming car with its desired speed and calculates and applies the appropriate braking force to achieve a predetermined exit speed for the car. The computer also maintains a count of the number of cars being directed to each yard track and is able to adjust the application of the retarder based on the incoming speed, the weight of the approaching car and the space remaining on the yard track. Other sensors in the system follow the car's progress across the switches of this system in conjunction with a signal system and prohibit the premature throwing of a switch along the path of a rolling railroad car. Except for speed and weight, the retarders of a hump yard system are not responsive to the condition of an individual car or to the condition of the track.
The dispensers now being used to lubricate the tracks of a yard system have an associated detector for detecting when a car is approaching; the dispenser may be adapted to dispense a fixed amount of lubricant each time a car passes. When the tracks are properly lubricated, a railroad car that does not have its brake applied and is free of defects will move along the tracks of the system at a predictable rate. In reality, however, several factors affect the amount of lubricant needed to maintain the optimum rollability of cars over the tracks. Excessive lubrication will cause lubricant to build up on the yard tracks. Excess lubricant is undesirable insofar as it poses a hazard to railroad personnel, can cause roll out, can cause damage to the cars and the contents thereof, and generally contaminates the underlying ground.
Water is a natural lubricant and, therefore, a lesser amount of lubricant is needed on the tracks during rain or snow. On the other hand, rain or snow will wash some of the newer ‘friction modifier’ lubricants off the tracks, leaving the tracks in need of restoration of the desired level of lubrication after the rain has ended. Cars moving along the tracks of an adequately lubricated yard system will lose speed at a predictable rate thereby allowing the orderly assembly of the cars on the yard tracks. On the other hand, the cars move more slowly along inadequately lubricated tracks, as occurs following a rain storm, slowing down the disassembly/reassembly process and costing time and money.
Lubricant which is dispensed on the track is picked up by the wheels of a moving railroad car and spread down the track. Once a few cars have applied lubricant to a previously underlubricated section of track, the cars will again be able to move at their desired speeds, after which only intermittent application of lubricant are needed to maintain adequate lubrication. It is unnecessary, therefore, to apply lubricant to the tracks each time a car is released over a hump, as currently is the practice in most hump yards.
In the case of the flat switching yard, lubrication is typically sparsely applied by manual application, since excess lubrication makes it difficult for locomotives towing or pushing other cars to gain and maintain traction. Known automated lubrication systems, such as those that rely on timing or ‘car counting’ to schedule lubricant delivery onto the tracks, are largely ineffective in flat switching yard applications, since they tend to over-lubricate the tracks with uncontrolled amounts of lubricant and thus interfere with the operation of the locomotive.
Moreover, the formation of ice and the accumulation of snow on railroad track components, such as switches, can cause significant operating problems. Historically a common method of addressing this has been through the use of heat, typically applied as a gas-fired flame, manually invoked. Because of this manual initiation, the heat is typically applied continuously once invoked until manually shut off. This is inefficient for several reasons. First, a determination as to the need for de-icing has to be made; this determination is usually made subjectively. Second, a manual step is required to ignite the ‘heaters’. Third, because of its “brute force” nature, much of the heat energy is simply dissipated rather than being used more efficiently on the need-affected area. Forth, because of the manual steps needed to ignite these different areas the flames are often left running when the need is not currently present but may recur within a time frame soon enough to make the on/off cycle costly to employ. Alternatively, the use of electric resistance heating in lieu of gas-fired flame can be employed but some of the same inefficiencies still persist.
Alternately, chemical antifreeze or deicing agents are sometimes applied to prevent the buildup of ice and snow over and around railroad switches; this practice has met with some success. Such agents are typically manually applied to problem areas, such as by men with hand-held sprayers. This technique is typically used to address acute problems, such as already-frozen or iced-up switches that have already caused problems and will have to be manually cleaned and/or deiced, and as such is reactive in nature. This technique suffers the drawbacks of being time consuming, since the laborers must be called, equipped, and sent to the problem areas in response to weather conditions once those conditions have arisen and been identified. Such a response is inefficient in terms of both time and expense lost.
While lubrication and lubrication control is important in the switchyard setting, it is likewise important for railroad tracks spanning the countryside. The need for lubrication is perhaps greatest at curves because lateral forces are applied to the gauge face of the track by the side of the wheels as the train travels through the curve. The application of lateral forces increases friction and wear (both to the wheels and to the track) and the curved track wears far more rapidly than straightaway track. Not only do the tracks wear more rapidly at curves, the lateral forces applied thereto from the wheels of the train moving therethrough can cause the rail to become loosened from the ties. As the rails become loosened, the gauge, or spacing between the rails, may widen and/or, eventually, the track may roll over, resulting in the derailment of a train.
Thus, a need persists for a means of quickly and efficiently measuring the need for a lubrication and/or deicing agent on railroad tracks and then controlling the application of lubricant/deicer in response to the measured need while monitoring the gauge of the rail. The present technology addresses this need.